‘An embarrassment to everything else we call super’: Neil deGrasse Tyson slams supermoon

As millions turned out Sunday to catch a glimpse of 2017’s only supermoon, according to the IndyStar, one famous astrophysicist wasn’t having any of it.

Neil deGrasse Tyson took to Twitter on Sunday to slam the phenomenon.

“FYI: The very concept of a Super Moon is an embarrassment to everything else we call super: Supernova, Supercollider, Superman, Super Mario Bros,” the popular physicist said Sunday.

He didn’t stop there:

“A supermoon is a moon that is full when it is also at or near its closest point in its orbit around Earth,” according to www.nasa.gov. The supermoons “appear about 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than full moons.”

This isn’t the first time the astrophysicist has pointed out its apparent insignificance; he tweeted in 2015, “Resist the Hype: The size of today’s “Super” moon is to next month’s full moon as a 16.07 inch pizza is to a 16.00 inch pizza.”

NASA, however seems to have a different take on the hype.

“The supermoons are a great opportunity for people to start looking at the moon,” said Noah Petro, a research scientist from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

If Tyson’s tweets haven’t dampened your enthusiasm, there are two more opportunities to see a supermoon: Jan. 1, 2018, and Jan. 31, 2018.

This story was originally published December 4, 2017 at 12:12 PM with the headline "‘An embarrassment to everything else we call super’: Neil deGrasse Tyson slams supermoon."